"Pierre Gasly shaking in his boots": Fans react to Esteban Ocon claiming it's 'back to war mode' in the 2024 F1 season

Esteban Ocon recently spoke about how Alpine suffered due to multiple DNFs in the 2023 F1 season and stated that he will be training harder than ever to return stronger in 2024.

After an impressive 2022 season in which he finished P8 in the drivers' standings, ahead of his teammate Fernando Alonso, Ocon's performances dropped in 2023. He finished P12, behind new teammate Pierre Gasly.

Speaking to GPblog about Alpine's 2023 season, Esteban Ocon said:

"We had too many DNFs. That has cost us. I think it's nine DNFs almost in total, probably the most of any drivers. If you remove the issue we have with the gearbox in Singapore, the contact with Oscar in Austin, we could have been in the top 10 in the championship, so that's where it's really a bit of a wasted opportunity.”

"From the 2nd of January until the first test, I will be back fully into training camp. I’m going to be doing it the way I was in 2022, which is (having) no life, flat out, only racing," he added.

The 27-year-old driver stated that the team will be entirely focused on the racing side of things in the upcoming season. He said:

"We've been doing a lot of different things and activations outside the track this year. That's going to change next year. Back to war mode and fully focused on the racing side."

Ocon's statement about unleashing 'war mode' went viral on social media platforms. Many users reacted to it and humorously stated that Pierre Gasly must be scared after listening to Ocon's resolve.

Others posted Esteban Ocon's crashes on the F1 grid and joked about how that was his 'war mode'.

One fan stated that this statement itself could give a five-second penalty to the French driver, which is a running meme in the F1 community at this point.

Here are some of the reactions from fans:

"Pierre Gasly shaking in his boots"

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Esteban Ocon feels Alpine can emulate McLaren's rise in the 2023 F1 season

McLaren's performance in 2023 skyrocketed when they introduced an upgrade package at the Austrian GP. After the upgrade, their car became capable of bagging podiums and competing with Mercedes.

As quoted by Motorsportweek last month, Esteban Ocon spoke about McLaren's rise and claimed that Alpine can emulate that jump.

"I think there’s no jealousy. No, like, – oh sh*t, they’ve done a really good job. To me, it’s more like – oh, they’ve done it, so it is possible. So fair play. Admiration for the work that they’ve done. And [it shows] it is possible to get out of the midfield, because they’ve done so. So why not us?" he added.

Alpine ended the 2023 season in sixth place in the constructors' championship. It was a major step down for them after a P4 finish in 2022.